Shooting Star
by Fearforget
Summary: A vampire hunter goes after the Cullen's for their skins. Please, please, please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

These characters do not belong to anyone other than Stephenie Meyer, nor do I get any money from my attempts. I just walk in her world the only way I can.

Chapter One

I saw him . . . as usual, the shining creature, but only in the sun, was hunting. It was always amazing to me their unquenchable thirst for my blood, but it made my life easier. I grinned as he changed direction towards my new location. He could smell my blood.

Hey, let's make him salivate for it. I cut my finger in my "fear." Oh no, the horrible vampire was after me, coming to drain me dry with his fangless mouth! I was terrified.

Okay, no I wasn't. Despite their thick hides, there was a way to get through them.

He was coming . . . with a click, I drew my weapon, a diamond tipped throwing star, though that wasn't the most accurate description, as it was bigger than my head, ready and able to cut through the rough tendons of the vampire.

Ah, here he was, grinning at the chase. I put a perfectly pained expression of fear on my face, and he just grinned larger. "Sorry, my dear," he said, "but your life is over, so please don't scream too loudly in my ears."

"Funny," I said with a smile, "I was about to say the same thing to you." Then I attacked, the thrill of my fight invigorating me. He hadn't expected a human to be such a dangerous foe, but it clicked in his eyes, when my weapon was thrown, cutting right through his neck, coming back to cut his arms right off, followed by his legs. Now, it was time to act quickly, and I brought my chemical solution to life, shaking it vigorously and then spraying it over all the creeping body parts. He froze in place, only his eyes staring at me.

"Yes, you vampires think you're so strong, but human chemicals are stronger, deadlier."

"Wh . . . why?" his mouth was able to say. "V . . . vengeance? Or . . . prejudice?"

"No, no, no. I love vampires. They look so pretty on outfits. Do you know how much a vampire hide goes for? It looks so much like diamonds, and diamonds are a girl's best friend, you know."

His eyes widened as he understood the significance of that, and he knew his existence would soon be over. Not by fire . . . no there was better ways of skinning a vampire, and I knew them all. I would be even richer than I already was. I already imagined my new line of vampire clothes. Diamond Skin? Maybe. I needed more, though. Thanks to the ever present Volturi watching, Los Angeles vampires didn't like coming out too often, as they knew the consequences of their actions. The Volturi would come down on them and destroy all my beautiful skins. My tongue salivated greedily at the thought of skinning the group of them, but . . . even I wasn't that stupid. Maybe later.

More skins! I needed them! Damn it! Why were the vampires so good at hiding? I needed a big score. Unfortunately, the damned bloodsuckers didn't stay together, alone usually. How could I get a big score? I couldn't do anything with only one stinking skin.

My prayers were answered, and I thanked God profusely as three cars passed the alley I was in. They were all white-faces, but their eyes were golden. Funny . . . that meant they didn't eat humans. Easier for me at the same time harder.

The silver Volvo held a pretty attractive vampire in the driver's seat—of course, they all were amazingly beautiful. Next to him, cuddled in his arms was . . . a human? Weird. What followed was a Mercedes and then another expensive car. A blonde male with his mate, and then the final car held four vampires. I sucked in my breath. It was the normal human reaction at all that beauty in one place. My greed growled.

Money, money, money! All I saw in that—family? Yes, family— was the way of enriching my bank account. Then it hit me. I was in the know about vampires, and these (who knew what they were doing in my neck of the woods) had to be the Cullen's. The vampires who were "vegetarians," the ones who had a human for a pet.

"Yummy, yum," I said, licking my lips. "A family of vampires who won't kill me, as I am a human. My life has just gotten more interesting."

I jumped on my motorcycle, which I had left outside the alley I allowed the vampire to chase me down, and I roared after those vehicles. Forks, Washington, here I come.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Edward

Los Angeles had been interesting, I had to say, trying to stay out of the sun, going out only in the night, covering up from head to toe, and, one day, clearing out one beach completely by Emmett pretending to be a shark. It had been tough, but I'd do anything for Bella, and she had said how she wished she could see the beaches in California, so we were gone, though she protested that she was just making casual conversation. I'd do anything for her, and even though it meant going in cars, and keeping the whole coven together, so she could be kept safe (she had too many accidents to be set near the waves without all of us: knowing her she'd find the way of awakening the sirens under the water and get their wrath), I didn't regret it as she snuggled into my chest.

At moments like this I almost felt . . . human. That was one of the biggest reasons I didn't want to turn her too soon. Would I feel the same about Bella if she was like me? Soulless?

I would always love her, I told myself ferociously, but part of me still wondered and worried.

"I have to admit," Bella said, "it was fun seeing all of you sparkle in the sun."

"It was dangerous," I said, still not understanding what it was that she thought was so beautiful about me—about all of us.

"Well, maybe, but nothing happened, and back to the clouds."

"Why don't you get some sleep? It's a long drive back, even going as fast as I am."

"I'd rather stay right here," Bella said, and she remained close to me, warming up my body, it seemed, with her human warmth, and I enjoyed her aroma. The trip didn't last as long as I wanted it to, and we were back, deciding to have Bella stay with us for the night, as Charlie thought it was going to take a lot longer to get back, and Bella had drifted off. I was a bit jealous, wishing I had that ability to sleep, but I always ignored that. This was who I was, a vampire, and I couldn't spend my eternity wishing I was something different.

I carried Bella inside, and placed her on my bed. I admired her peace. She wasn't having a nightmare, so it was nice to watch her. I placed my body far enough away from her, but still curled up beside her. Why cool her body down? Now that we were back in Forks, it was pretty cold.

Suddenly, I felt Alice's thoughts in my mind. Was she screaming? I was out of the bed in an instant and downstairs faster. "What did you see?" I asked, her thoughts too much of a jumble of fear to hear them.

"Jasper . . . dead. You dead. Everyone dead, our skins worn like trophies."

I felt like I was slapped, as I saw the truth in her words. Everyone had heard her cry out, so we were all gathered in the living room, Jasper holding Alice, though the fear was in his eyes as well.

"What?" Bella asked. So, she had heard as well. I cursed mentally, wishing more than anything to keep her out of the newest danger. "What does that mean? You're all going to . . . die?" Her voice choked at the end.

"Of course not," Carlisle said firmly. "As you all know, the future is subjective. We will stand together to stop this threat. Is it the Volturi?"

"I . . . can't tell. I just know that unless we decide something quick that will stop it, the future is assured. We will all die, horribly, not even having the decency of end of thoughts. Our minds will still feel, but we will not be able to do anything, just forever being passed down from generation to generation."

I wished Alice would shut up. Everyone was afraid enough, and Bella was practically fainting at the idea. "That's ridiculous," I said, holding Bella upright. "I think it's not possible. There are only two ways of going, living eternally or being fed to the flames. That's it. What you say is impossible."

_Someone has made it possible,_ Alice's thoughts said, now not speaking out loud. She didn't want to scare anyone else either.

"Edward," Bella whispered, "change me into a vampire. I want to protect you. Do it now. I'll fight the bloodlust for you; I know I will."

"Forget it," I said with gritted teeth. "It's my job to protect you, not the other way around."

"I will do anything to keep that from happening," Bella said. "Please."

I hated when she said that, but I had a will of steel when it came to this. "What do we do? How do we fight back?" I asked Carlisle, ignoring Bella's pleas.

"We keep an eye out. As you know, the werewolves will probably let us know if they hear anything, and our territory is very hard to pass for anything of vampire or werewolf without us knowing it. For the time being, assume that Alice is wrong, though. Just . . ." His voice caught, and I heard his thoughts, _I don't want my family to die._ "Just keep your eyes and ears open. And, Bella, we don't want you in danger, so just keep close to Charlie, and try to pretend you're not our friend for the time being. Edward, take her home. Tell Charlie we flew back. Go."

I was off, ignoring Bella once again asking for me to change her, and yelling that she wanted to be a part of this. I reached her home, and gave her a long kiss. "You're not a vampire, Bella. This is something we have to take care of. Please, just stay out of it. We'll be fine." I ran before she could respond, but I still heard her voice yelling after me, "I am already a part of it! I love you! That makes it so!"

Yep, that's what she always seemed to think. I hated myself again for needing her so much. I should have just stayed away from her, shouldn't have tried to kill myself in Italy. Maybe she wouldn't be caught up all the time in danger.

There wasn't much to be done about it now. Another threat was here. What could it be? Could the Volturi have gotten sick of waiting for Bella to be turned into one of us? It wasn't likely, as Alice could see when they would come, when they made the decision. What else? Another vampire? Doubtful, as one by himself wouldn't be a threat. Maybe the werewolves? Nope. They would either want us dead or away from them, not living on to be passed down from generation to generation.

It was frustrating. There was no one else that I could think of. How could we fight against something we had no idea of what it was or what motivated him or her? I decided school wouldn't miss me on Monday. I was always more into preemptive strikes than just sitting and waiting, so I'd see who came into Forks. Anyone new I'd clamp down on.

It was much harder than I thought, because . . . we suddenly had fans. People, for some reason, had found out about famous Doctor Cullen, and his beautiful family. I don't know how it happened, but people were coming just to get a glimpse of us. I really hoped they hadn't realized we were vampires—it'd probably be worse!

So, for at least a week I watched our fans come and go, some staying longer, and I got bored of that end. I wasn't getting any answers, so I headed home again. I bumped right into a woman, who was a bit strange. Her outfit was a short black dress, which clung to her muscles. She seemed to be someone who worked out every day, but she seemed so out of place in Forks, like she had just come from California, especially with her blonde and sun-kissed hair on top.

"Oh, sorry," she said, "I guess I should watch where I'm going. I'm new here, all out of sorts. So sorry." There was so much going on in her mind, I couldn't focus on one thought. Was she a fan? I couldn't tell. There was only clutter, so I said excuse me and rushed off, feeling her eyes watch me. She seemed harmless . . . so why did I feel something so sinister radiating off of her? With an underlying thought, through all that fuzz, of _Oh, he's a pretty one, money, money, money?_

I figured I was just being paranoid. After all, this woman was a human. How could a human cause the trouble that Alice foresaw. None would dare. It was back to the drawing board. What could the menace be?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Bella

School was necessary, even though I wanted to be finding out what was going to do what Alice saw. Charlie had already asked if I was sick, and I had to pretend I wasn't more worried than I had ever been, even when James had me at his mercy. Being at school was easier than facing his stares and questions.

It was my last year, and soon graduation would hit, and then I'd be a vampire myself . . . if everything went right. Once again, a tremor of panic shook my body, and I wanted to run outside, get in my truck and go ask Edward if he had figured anything out, but I knew what he'd say—I knew him too well. He'd order me out of danger, and probably drag me back to my home.

"Are you alright?" a voice asked, and I looked up to see a new face, which was a bit odd in Forks. Not many came and went in Forks High School. She must have been a new teacher. I could tell that all the guys in school would have troubles concentrating in class with her, as she had the traditional California look, blond and beautiful, with muscles that told the story of her long workouts.

"I'm great," I said, trying to smile, to bring up an act that didn't say I was worrying to death about my "family." I must have been transparent, though, as the woman said, "You look as if you're worried about the deaths of friends or something."

I stared at her for a minute, blinking, but then I said, "Not really," trying to move on.

"I just arrived from Los Angeles," she continued, walking alongside me. "Forks is . . . wet, isn't it?"

"Didn't you do any research before you came?" I asked in disbelief. "That's an understatement to say just 'wet'."

"No . . . I was in a hurry. But, I think I could like it here. The students seem nice enough and willing to learn. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Nora Summers, and I look forward to teaching you a few lessons."

"It's my last year," I said, not liking this woman for some reason. "I doubt you'll teach me anything."

"Oh, I don't think so. What's your name? You're being very rude, you know."

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Summers," I said, but sarcasm bit my words. I tried to dial it back a bit. After all I didn't have any reason for animosity towards her. "I am Bella Swan."

"Oh, the chief of police's daughter? Funny. I wouldn't think someone like you would be so near the law."

That stopped me. Someone like me? She had just met me. How would she know anything about me? "Thanks for your input. I have to get to class."

"Okay, how about after school, you show me the good restaurants. I have some things I'd like to discuss with you."

"Um, can't," I said trying to get away. "I've got a lot of stuff to do."

"Like go and see the Cullen's?" she said with a knowing smile.

Okay, who was she? Nora Summers seemed to know an awful lot, considering she had just arrived here. Did she also know that my friends were vampires? That thought rolled around in my brain, as the answer was yes. She knew exactly who everyone was.

"No, I don't think so. On second thought, I will meet you after school today. I want to hear all about you and what you're doing in Forks." I couldn't keep the sharp edge out of my voice, but Nora didn't even blink. She just nodded and smiled.

"Excellent. I'll see you then."

Then she was off, and I went into class. Unfortunately, I didn't much pay attention all day. I went over that conversation over and over again in my mind. It seemed more and more sinister with every replay. Could Nora Summers be what Alice had seen? It didn't make sense. She was human, and what human could stand against the speed and strength of Edward? Unless she was something else. A werewolf? I suddenly knew where I would take Nora today. I wanted to know what Jacob thought about all of this.

Nora was waiting for me by my truck when I left the school.

"Hey," Mike said, forgetting anyone else, and allowing a few people behind him to smash right into him when he stopped and ogled Ms. Summers. "There's the new teacher. What's she doing next to your truck, Bella? Too much beauty in one place is not good for my heart."

"I just agreed to show her around town a bit, Mike. Put your tongue back in your mouth. You look ridiculous."

"He doesn't just look that way. He _is_ ridiculous," Jessica stated. I left them at that moment, putting a fake grin on my face.

"Hi, Ms. Summers," I said.

"Please, call me Nora. I'm not exactly a teacher right now, and I'm only a couple years older than you. I think we could be friends."

_I doubt that,_ I thought, but my faked smile just got larger. "Yes, absolutely. What do you say about going to La Push today? I need to see my friend Jacob first."

"Fine," Nora responded and pulled on a jacket. For today, the sun was breaking through the clouds very well, and it made her jacket sparkle in the beams, stopping when she got into the passenger side of my truck.

"That's an interesting jacket," I had to admit. "What kind of material is it?"

"A special fabric, about to take the country by storm," she said, her smile seeming . . . I don't know, sinister. "If you're cooperative, I might share the secret with you."

I tried to smile, but what I really wanted to do was push her out of my truck at fifty miles per hour. "I don't really like it," was all I said.

"So, is this Jacob like the Cullen's?"

"Not even close," I snorted, thinking of Jacob's reaction to that comparison.

"Watch the tree," she said casually, and it took me a second to react, swerving around a fallen tree. I marveled at her reflexes, as she was having a conversation with me, and a split second glance at the road had been enough time to warn me from having an accident.

"Nice timing."

"Oh, well I've trained myself very well. Do you know our minds have such infinite capabilities? I learned in college that if you focus long enough every single day, your senses can almost become super human. I have trained for three hours a day just on reacting to bullets being shot at me."

"Excuse me?" I asked with an arched eyebrow, but keeping my eyes on the road now.

"Yes, I've learned to catch bullets. But that's not all. There are eighteen hours I am awake in my day after all. Each one is devoted to a different skill. See these muscles?" She flexed the perfect bump of steel. "One of the three hours in my day, making me stronger. My brain is acute, my reflexes perfect."

"Um, if you don't mind my asking . . . why? Why put yourself through that torture?"

"It's the only way . . .," she said quietly, now not wanting to talk anymore, but she did say one more thing. "I was once weak; now I'm strong, and I will get what I want."

A chill gripped my heart at those words, and I thought of Edward, and my mind imagined him wearing Nora's jacket, for some reason. I shook my head and pulled up to Jacob's house, jumping out so I could get to Jacob first, to ask him to be on lookout for me. But, the best intentions . . . I caught my foot on the truck's edge and fell into the grass. Nora helped me up, laughing a bit, and I saw a belt, just like her jacket, glittering like diamonds. What material was that?

"Graceful," Nora said with a smirk.

"Whatever," I muttered, seeing Jacob join us, asking if I was alright and then sneering. What was his problem? Did I still smell like Edward? It wasn't possible, as I hadn't seen him for the last three days, missing him like crazy, but knowing he wouldn't allow me to help.

"Phew, Bella," he whispered, trying to grin, "what did you do? Roll in the bloodsucker's vomit?"

"No, why? Do I smell worse or something?" I whispered back. Nora was ignoring our exchange, looking around the property like she was in the S.W.A.T. team or something.

"Bad, much worse. Who's this?" he said voice returning to normal.

"Jacob, I want you to meet Nora Summers, a new teacher at Forks High School. She's special." Jacob glanced at me, and I tried to convey through only subtle dilations of my pupils that I wanted him to get a smell of her, to ascertain what she was.

He nodded. Oh, good, he got it! That's my Jacob.

"So, how are you enjoying the rain? This day is a rarity around here." He walked up to her, about to shake her hand, when his hackles rose, and he backed off, emitting growls.

"What's your problem?" Nora asked, backing up as well.

"Bella . . . get her back in the truck."

He didn't have to say it twice, as Nora was already sprinting back to safety, slamming my door with relish. "What is it, Jake?" I asked, trying to calm him down. In a few minutes, he'd be in full wolf form.

"She smells . . . she's the one who smells."

"She's a vampire?"

"No, I smell the human on her, but what she's wearing . . . It stinks like Edward three days in the sun dead."

I cringed, and looked back to my truck. Nora looked so innocent. What was she, and why'd she smell like a vampire? "So, she's not a werewolf? She's definitely human?"

"Come on, Bella! We wouldn't be caught dead in an outfit that smelled like that."

I agreed and was about to leave, when Jacob grabbed my arm. "Don't go with her. I'm worried for you."

"Don't worry. We were together for the whole drive to La Push, and nothing happened. Besides, you know the saying, keep your enemies close? Somehow, I want to keep Nora very close."

Then I left, hearing Jacob's whines, mixed with growls. I was going to get my wish to keep Nora close, though, as she asked me to drive her home, and I obliged, wanting to see inside the place she stayed. When I exited my truck, a hand gripped my throat, right at the jugular, and I felt faint. She had an iron grip, and I fell, the last sight seeing her gloating face; the last sound heard was, "Well, that was easy. I love having bait."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Edward

I was getting frustrated. Alice continued seeing our deadly future, and that's all she focused on, and with all my information gathering, I had zilch, zero, nothing! Maybe it was time I asked the werewolves, though my entire being rebelled against that.

But, hold on . . . I heard the whisper of some familiar thoughts that grew louder. Jacob was on the edge of our territory, mentally shouting for me. My what would be a heart if I were human froze, because I heard a horrifying thought: Bella's truck was found abandoned off of 101. There had been a sign of a struggle. I tried to protect her by keeping her away from me, and all I did was put her more in danger, again! Despite the fact that I basically heard all the information from his mind, I ran to where Jacob was and started demanding answers.

"I don't know!" he yelled back at me, mentally and physically. "That's what drives me nuts. It's gotta have something to do with that woman she was with."

I scanned his thoughts, seeing the same woman I had dismissed a while ago. A human? That's what kidnapped my Bella? Wait, with the smell of vampire on her? That made no sense. "Who was she?"

"Hey, bloodsucker," Jacob said with gritted teeth that were aching to tear someone's throat out—probably mine, "if I knew, I wouldn't be here talking to you. I'd be tearing someone's throat out." There you go. I was proven right. "I thought you'd know, considering she smelled as bad as you—no, check that, worse! Which is a feat, I might add."

"Keep the insults to a minimum, dog," I said, not willing to be civil when this situation was going from bad to worse. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was what Alice had seen. "She had to be working with vampires."

"Humans don't usually do that."

"Neither do they fall in love with vampires, but Bella's done it. Why can't this Nora have done the same thing?"

Jacob wrinkled his nose. "Because Bella is . . . special." I heard his extra thought of, _and a bit insane. _

"You don't have to tell me twice, but so is Nora. Didn't you see her physique? Humans don't usually work out that much, and to smell like vampires? It's the only thing that makes sense. So . . ." I started pacing, worrying the topic like a bone. "Why did she want Bella?"

"A meal for her bloodsucking friends?"

"Dog," I could barely get out through my clenched teeth. Hm, now _I _wanted to rip someone's throat out. "Shut up, unless you don't care as much about Bella as you claim."

Jacob just glared at me, breathing evenly out his nose in angry snorts. "Fine, but that's the only thing I've got."

"Well, I don't care what you've got. I'm going to find her."

"Wait, I know vampires are fast and strong, but when it comes to who's the king of tracking it's werewolves, so let me find her. I just thought I'd give you the heads-up."

This was ridiculous. Did Jacob really think I'd just sit back and allow him to find her? Of course, that's what he wanted. He didn't think a human would be all that much of a challenge, especially with my family distracting any vampires that came along. That meant he could swoop down and rescue Bella—be her hero, and earn her undivided love. Like my saving her was what Bella loved about me. It wasn't, was it? I shook off the doubts with a shake of my head. I really didn't know why she loved me, but I knew she did. That was enough.

"Sorry, but my family will cover this. You go back to your bone and find a way to bury it."

I had to ward off him jumping at me, and we both stood there, breathing angrily.

"Alright, you two, calm down," Carlisle said coming up behind us with a flourish. "Bella wouldn't like this, and you know it, and right now both of you should be focused on finding her."

"How did you know about Bella?" I asked, surprised.

"We could hear you all the way inside, and Jasper felt your rages. This won't help Bella. I think we'll have to work together on this, as Alice is still having problems seeing what is causing all this."

I quickly filled him in on what Jacob said when we weren't yelling.

"This makes no sense. Humans are even easier to see what they're going to do than vampires."

"Maybe she's just a pawn and not in on the decision making process. That would make sense. I guess we do need more force of numbers. Jacob, you can help."

"Oh, be still my heart," Jacob retorted. "Like you could have stopped me."

"Alright," Carlisle said, looking back and forth between us to gauge how much of a truce we had just built up, "if other vampires had come straight into town, we would have known. So, if they're here, they have to be up in the mountains. Jacob, will you pick up Bella's scent by her truck, if you can, and, if not, then just that awful smell of dead vampire will probably do the trick. The rest of us will head to Mt. Olympus and start the tracking for the vampires that could be doing this."

I didn't really want Jacob to be doing that work, but I understood Carlisle's reasoning. Despite Jacob's annoyance and constant dirty thoughts about Bella, he was still a young man, not able to take on vampires of this obvious skill level yet. Tracking would be easy for him, and if there were a lot of vampires, he'd be smart enough to get back-up.

We split up, and my family ran up the mountain with ease, looking and smelling for anything out of the ordinary. What made even less sense than anything before was that we didn't even find a leaf out of place. There were no other vampires in the area.

But . . . there just had to be, didn't there?


	5. Chapter 5

_Authors' Note: Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing. Here's a big chunk after all that time we took to get two chapters out. Enjoy, and review. Reviews are the difference between a long wait and a short one__. Thank-you._

Chapter Five

Bella

It was a very unfamiliar place I came to in, and I had no idea on where I was. I should have been terrified, but after all I had gone through, kidnapped by a psycho human wasn't exactly as scary. My brain just went into gear trying to figure out where I was, what I was bound by, and how to escape.

The first thing I noticed was that my hands were tied behind my back, with some sort of cord—really strong and felt weird against my skin. It took me all of a second to realize it was no cord, but her belt she had been wearing earlier. It was even more repugnant to me now that it was against my skin. I don't know, but it felt somehow . . . familiar to me.

The next thing I noticed was that it was dark inside wherever I was, but I could still see that it was a small area and some kind of dark metal. Nora was sitting across from me, watching with a smile at my evaluation. "So, what have you come up with?" she asked sweetly. "That your stuck and don't have a chance? Well, you're right."

"No, what I've come up with is that you're a psychopath," I retorted. "What is the point of capturing me?"

"Ah yes, I'm guessing you just can't figure it out. Your mind has asked, but you can't possibly know. Am I a murderer who focuses on young women? Or am I some kind of pervert, wanting you for other uses? Well, the answer is no to both. I want something quite different. I know all about you and the Cullen's. It's amazing to me that you could be friends and more with something that wants your blood. It must be hard to see that hunger in Edward's eyes when he looks at you."

"The only hunger he has for me is not for my blood," I said with venom. "He has gotten past that, because that's who he is. That's who all of them are, vampires who don't take the blood of humans."

"How do they survive then?" she asked.

"On animals."

"Oh, so the animals don't matter just because they don't have a human look?"

"What are you, a vegetarian?" I asked. "Because, then you're just a hypocrite if not."

"Actually," Nora said seriously, "I am a serious vegan. Animals have rights, and that's one of my passions, besides looking great while doing it. In fact, that brings us to the reason we're here today. Millions of animals are murdered for clothing, and I have tried to find a way of stopping it. About three years ago, I came up with the answer. You are going to bring me a new outfit, probably a whole line."

That made no sense to me, but suddenly what was against my skin on my wrists at the moment finally made itself know what it reminded me of: Edward's skin against mine, that cold and stony feel. Oh my god . . . "You . . . you skinned a vampire to make your coat and belt?"

"Wow, you're more intelligent than I gave you credit for." Nora smirked. "It was quite easy. For years and years, we humans have been victims of the vampire, but what has happened with our brains is amazing. Chemicals have been produced for warfare and medicine. Why not one that puts us on the same footing as those monsters?"

"Monsters? You're the monster!" I screamed, so horrified by what had happened I couldn't breathe normally. "At least vampires only hunt for food, putting the person out of their misery quickly, but you . . . is this vampire still alive?"

"Technically, yes. He probably knows all that's going on, too. Who cares? But, he won't be alone. Soon, the Cullen's will follow. Hm, Cullen Shine? What do you think of that for the name of my brand? Or maybe Animal Love?"

"You are out of your mind, and if you think I'm going to help you get their skin you're stupider than you look, which would be a feat."

"Now, now, don't resort to petty insults. I don't need your help, just your presence. You are bait. Once they get off their wild goose chase they will track down your scent, and that will bring them right to this engine. Then I have enough traps, and the advantage of a small space, to stop all of them, one by one."

I finally realized I was inside the Shay engine in Tillicum Park. Right out in the public, where none of the Cullen's could use their full might. And if she was good enough to trap one vampire, she was good enough to trap them as they came in one by one in order not to raise too much suspicion. I was bait . . . and I might get Edward killed.

Suddenly, I heard a low wolf's howl, one that was made to sound far off, but I could tell it was Jacob, giving me a clue he was here. I smiled, so glad it wasn't Edward. This woman couldn't possibly know about werewolves, right?

"A werewolf?" Nora said with a smile at the howl. "And he wants you to know he's here, but not me. How intriguing. It seems you get more and more interesting, Bella. But, I don't skin werewolves: it's too akin to skinning a wolf. I guess I'll just have to eliminate him."

"I'd like to see you try," I said, struggling to get out of my bonds, even as Jacob made his way inside.

"Well, well, well," Nora said, "that explains a lot. You are a werewolf? Wow, they're picking them young, aren't they?"

"Lady, I give you two options: let Bella go or be ripped apart," Jacob said simply.

"You would kill a human? I thought your kind was supposed to be protectors, not destroyers. This would make you an awful lot like the cold ones, don't you think? What would your pack think of you then?"

Jacob hesitated, and that's all Nora needed. From somewhere she pulled a shiny net and threw it over him, pinning him to the floor. "See? That's what makes humans better than your kind. In the end, brains are what we have, while strength is what you have, and let me tell you. It's not always survival of the fittest, not since they invented the H-bomb."

"You're just getting more trouble for yourself," Jacob said, growling intermittently, with his nose curled up as far as possible to avoid the awful stench around him. "Right now a whole family of vampires is after you. What will happen when my people find out I'm missing as well?"

"More nets? More captures? Maybe I could sell you all to a zoo. Believe me, puppy, humans are the dominate species. Now, go to sleep." She brought out a spray and gave a blast right in his face. He went unconscious. While she was busy with my friend, though (I sure hoped he was just unconscious not dead or else Nora would pay), another form came in and smashed her against the wall. It was my Edward!

He ran over to me, which proved to be a mistake, as Nora, recovering quickly (I had to admire her tenacity: her arm was completely broken), grabbed another spray and saturated him with it. My love froze in front of me.

"What the hell did you do to him?" I shrieked, struggling more than ever.

"Chemicals and brainpower always win," she said, binding her arm tightly, with some more of that same material. How many vampires had she already taken?

"Please! Please, leave him alone! Don't skin him!" I was panicking, just yelling the same thing over and over again.

"Now, how cruel do you think I am? I wouldn't do it in front of you. Besides, he's just a small fish. I want the whole family. One more bait, hm?" Nora shuffled to the door. "Right now, I have to get this fixed. So, stay here like a good little girl, while I set the trap." She paused and looked at Edward. "Oh, and one more thing." She drew out a weapon, a star shaped thing with shiny points. With one breath, she stabbed Edward right in the arm, where hers had broken. His eyes widened in pain, but that's all he could do, no screaming out as that was frozen. "That is for my arm," she said sweetly. "Pray that I'm in a better mood when I return." Then she was gone.

"Oh, Edward," I said, tears choking my voice. "Can you at least hear me?" He blinked, and I took that as yes. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." He blinked again, and I knew him so well, I knew that meant, "It is not your fault," but I didn't care. For the rest of my life, I would know it was my fault. If I hadn't insisted on being around him this wouldn't have happened. All this time, I thought it was me I was risking. I never thought it might be him, my love, the only thing in life worth fighting for.

I reached my fingers as far as they would go, trying to feel for the belt buckle. It was pretty tight, but I managed to get that little metal rod to slip out of the hole, and then I wriggled out. The first thing I did was run over to Edward and give him a hug. "Can you at least feel me?" I asked. He blinked again. Another yes. I was glad for that. "I am going to get you out of here," I promised.

I turned my attention to my other reason for fighting, and looked at the net. It was amazing, so intricate; I wasn't sure how to get it off without having it dig deeper into Jacob's skin. I decided to see if this Nora had any other weapons. She had modified the inside of this engine, to be like a miniature apartment. She was so sure she had me trapped, that she had left all her stuff behind, except that star of hers. A cabinet in the corner caught my attention. It opened on an arsenal of diamond weapons: guns with diamond bullets, diamond knives, diamond swords, and so on, and so on, and so on. "This woman has got to be as rich as she is crazy." I took the sword, and carefully cut off the net around Jacob. It was no wonder she could kill vampires: this blade went through it like it was butter.

"Jacob," I said shaking his arm. He didn't respond. I needed to shock him awake. Then his werewolf senses would overpower what she did to him, kicking his healing into gear and getting that poison out of his system. I only had one thought, and it wasn't nice to Jacob or Edward, but I had no other choice. Who knew when Nora would return? Without a second thought, I reached out and kissed Jacob full on the lips, lingering a bit, especially when he started giving back. Finally, I pulled myself away, feeling guilty. "Okay, Sleeping Beauty," I said. "I need your help. Don't go looking into that kiss too much."

"Too late," he responded with a grin.

"We need to get Edward home," I said, rolling my eyes, still blushing a bit. Jacob picked the statuesque Edward up and carried him out of the engine. Tillicum Park had quite a few people in it, and all gave us a strange look, but luckily no one asked any questions, though I'm sure it'd be in the newspaper tomorrow. I hoped Charlie wouldn't read it.

Of course, that wasn't the main hope in my head. I hoped Edward could be fixed of whatever Nora had sprayed him with. I hoped Nora would trip and fall off a cliff. But I did know one thing. If this could be fixed at all, it was time for me to stop being selfish. The whole family would have moved on by now if it weren't for me. They wouldn't be in danger. It was time to get it through Nora's head that the Cullen coven would not come after me if she tried this again. My bonds with them had to be cut, no matter how much I'd bleed afterwards.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Carlisle

After the whole time of getting nowhere trying to find the other vampires who were backing a human, we had just decided to go back to work. Alice had told us she could see, at least, that Bella was unharmed, so we figured that whatever the enemy wanted, the next move was theirs, and I had a job to do. I wasn't going to allow people to suffer (one of my patients had a problem with excessive bleeding), when we were just chasing our own tails.

As much as it worried me where Bella was, there was nothing I could do for her, and to stop myself from going crazy I could only work. "What's my next patient?" I asked my assistant.

"A woman broke her arm. Her name is Miss Summers, and she specifically asked for you. You'd better be careful about being so good-looking, Doc. Women are coming from everywhere to see you."

"Don't I know it?" I said with a grin.

I walked into the exam room, to see a very fit woman. Now, this was odd, as most people just didn't take care of themselves, which was a shame. "Hello, I'm Doctor Cullen. Now, how did this happen?" I asked, looking at the X-rays.

"A vampire threw me across the room."

I blinked a few times at this. "Excuse me?"

"Why don't you just fix this, and I'll tell you more."

"Okay," I said, wondering if she was crazy or telling the truth. Maybe she could give me a clue on where these new vampires were. "It looks like you broke the bone right between your wrist and elbow, so I'll get a cast set."

That was done, and I made sure the bone would heal properly in the cast. Finally, I turned my attention to what she had said. "So, what kind of vampire did this to you? Did you stake him through the heart afterwards? Maybe see him burst into flame at the sun's touch?" I was testing her. There were a few who came in that believed in vampires, just not the real kind. If she said yes to either of these questions, I could just send her home.

"The sun just brings out their beauty, and a stake would splinter into a million pieces before even reaching the heart. See, the trick to destroying a vampire is get the strongest cutting tool on earth to get through. Like what I did to your son . . ."

Now, I was listening with a passion, and I'm sure I was growling. "What do you mean?" I asked in measured tones.

"I have Bella, and now I have Edward. Both are my prisoners. I'm sure you wouldn't want them to stay with me too long." She glanced at her arm. "Wow, you sure did a good job. It must kill you right now that you took your enemy out of pain, hm?"

As a matter of fact, she was right. "Listen, whatever the vampires you're working for told you, we are not bad ones."

"I don't really care about bad or good; I care about style. And, I know egomaniacs can't see the forest for the trees, but there are no new vampires, no rival coven, nobody except me, a human. I kidnapped Bella on my own. _I_ froze Edward where he stood and stabbed him with my weapon. I will be the one to wear his coat. Just thought you'd like to know."

"And what makes you think I won't just kill you right here? You are alone with me in my exam room. Do you think I'd give you a chance to scream?"

Miss Summers laughed out loud at this. "But, I thought you didn't kill humans. Wouldn't that reawaken your bloodlust? Ruin everything you worked so hard to forget? What about your Hippocratic Oath?"

She knew what buttons to push. Damn it. She was right. I couldn't just kill her. I would be too tempted to drink her blood. I had worked so hard to think of humans as people who needed my help. If I did this, they would be back to being prey, and it would take me another twenty years to remember who I want to be.

"We will stop you," was all I could say.

"The Shay engine in Tillicum Park. Feel free to come by and try."

Then she was gone, and I felt helpless and lost. If I could have cried I would have. Though Edward wasn't my real son, I certainly felt like he was, and the idea that this woman somehow had him frozen, and had stabbed him, made my whole body shake, if it could. My mind certainly was.

"Carlisle!" a very welcome shriek hit my ears, and relief flooded my mind. Who came in next, and must have just missed Nora, was Bella, followed by Jacob (with his nose crinkled) carrying my son. "Help him! Do something!"

"It's alright, Bella," I said showing more calm than I felt inside. "Now that you're both here, you're safe, and so is he." I never thought I'd do what I did next, but I did an exam on my son, checking over all his functions. What held him was some kind of glue substance, which worked into our skin chemistry. "I think I might know what to do."

Edward 

It was the worst thing in the world to be completely frozen without being able to do anything, just watching as that human had threatened me and my family. At least now Carlisle was doing something, immersing my entire body into an oily substance. Slowly but surely, the chemicals that were saturating my skin washed away, and I was able to move.

Bella had been allowed to stay, as she was so worried about me, and, because I was naked, she was somewhat ogling me. She thought I was beautiful. I smiled at her, my own mind going to another place, but then I got cleaned off and redressed.

"Is everything moving right again?" Carlisle asked.

"I think so. Thanks." He hugged me ferociously, then stepping back.

"Well, that's over with. I guess we can call the police on Miss Summers."

"And tell them what?" Bella asked. "That she stabbed you, but you're fine now? Or that she kidnapped me as bait for you? Charlie has told me enough stories to show how this will end. Nora would be taken in, asked a million questions, kept in a cell until she posted bail, and then she would be back on the street again. Trial would take a year, and I doubt anyone would believe a story of half-truths."

"It's alright, Bella," I said, going over to hug her, but she surprised me by holding up a hand before I could reach her.

"No, it's not. I can't stand this constant danger around you." My heart sunk into my shoes. I had always worried that she might get sick of everything. "I don't . . . I don't want anything more to do with you, any of you really. I thought I was in love with you, Edward, but I realized it was just a schoolgirl's infatuation. Don't talk to me; don't call me. Don't even think about me, okay?"

"B . . . B . . . ella," I said: I was having trouble getting my tongue to work. "Pl…ease. You don't mean this. We're safe now."

"You're never safe as long as I'm—I mean, what about you is safe? If you, for one second, couldn't control yourself, I'd be lunch, right?"

I felt as if she slapped me, and the crystal tears that were running down Bella's cheeks hurt me even more. Did she really think I'd do that to her? I mean, really? Maybe it was best for us to part. Though I just felt as if I lost something. Strange, I went on and on about how I thought I had no soul, but it was this moment that I felt soulless. "If that's the way you feel . . . maybe it's time we left Forks."

"That is the best idea I've ever heard," Bella said, and then fled the room. For an instant, I felt the same way I did when I thought Bella was dead. Then I was running, after Bella, to see her one last time, to beg her to reconsider, but she was gone. I fell to my knees hard (breaking the floor a bit), and I just sat there, soul gone, eyes gone, brain gone. I was just a statue, like when Nora had sprayed me, but this time it was mental. Bella had destroyed me.

Bella

The hole was back, as I watched Edward from inside an exam room, having hidden knowing he would come after me. It was eating me away, but I had done what I needed. Nora was still here, watching. I could see her across the hallway, peeking out through a door, watching in shock. "There, you heartless witch," I said choking. "There, you won't get them through me. I will not make them weak."

Carlisle joined his son, and tried to help him through the hall, but it was more like he was dragging him. Then they were gone, and I knew they wouldn't stay in Forks long after this. They'd probably all hate me. That was for the best. The rest of my life—death I should call it—I would at least know they hadn't been skinned because of me. This was over. I just hoped that the next vampire Nora came across would rip her apart.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Edward

Everyone was going on with their lives, but I didn't seem to have the energy: I hadn't eaten in three days, and that was coming off of not eating much because of worry about Bella. Esme had tried her best to get me to eat, but she could only knock on my door now, as I had barricaded it well enough. Only if she wanted to use full force would she get in here, and I knew she would before I starved too much, but I had a few more weeks before that.

They were giving me my space, because I asked them to, but I still heard their thoughts and concern. What was the use, though? What was the point in eternal life if Bella wasn't here? She hated me . . . she hated the danger I put her in. And, she was right. Though I would still ignore that if she came back to me. Bella . . .

"Eddie," Esme's voice came echoing in, though I heard her thoughts already, "we're going into town." Her thoughts added, "maybe we can talk some sense into Bella. I'm so worried about Edward."

"Don't do it, Esme," I ordered. "It's useless. She's right. Why don't you just get out of here? You still have lives to play in Forks."

"Aren't you going to do the same?" she implored.

"No . . . If I can't be with Bella, I will just wither away here."

"We can't win with you," Carlisle's voice added to the conversation. "You don't want us to convince Bella she's safe and sound with us, but you also won't just get on with your life. This isn't healthy, either way."

I barked a short laugh, not feeling amused at all. "What happened to Nora, anyway?" I asked, changing the subject.

"She seems to have left Forks."

"Good riddance."

"Won't you go hunting?" Esme begged again.

"I don't feel hungry." That was the truth. The part that hungered for blood seemed to have been killed, along with the rest of me. The only thing I felt like doing was waiting until all the borrowed blood left my body for good. Then my shell would remain, but maybe I wouldn't feel anymore. Maybe that was the answer, because I certainly couldn't go to Italy again. The Volturi wouldn't kill me now. Aro was too intent on me becoming one of them, so he'd just pull strings until I became his puppet.

"Edward . . ." It wasn't my family. Aro was here? I never trusted the Volturi, so this is what I opened the door for, after shoving a bunch of stone slabs out of the way.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

He gave me a polite grin, which covered his true thinking, as usual, reaching out his hand to shake mine, to read my thoughts. I didn't want him to, not now, so I didn't follow through. "Come now, be polite. I can't read yours, but you can read mine. That's hardly fair."

"I don't care about fairness. What do you want?" I asked again. I couldn't read what he needed, as there was too much pandemonium going through his mind.

"It's a strange request. Can't we sit down and talk? Maybe in your lovely living room?"

I knew that if he was here, the rest of the Volturi wouldn't be far behind, and as depressed as I was, I didn't want my family to suffer for my ignoring one of Aro's demands, so I followed him down to the living room, seeing my family all standing together, waiting for Aro to either show a threat or leave.

"I have to say, I'm disheartened by the amount of distrust here," he said, scolding us, but none of us really cared. "I'm actually here on the most peaceful of missions."

"What is it that could bring you all the way from Italy?" Carlisle asked.

"Excuse me, but I am having a conversation with Edward here. Please do not be rude and interrupt." The glance he gave Carlise, as mirthful as it was, covered steel, and he wouldn't allow a second time of anyone talking except me.

"So, get to the damned point. I have wallowing to do," I said.

"Oh? Does this have anything to do with the lovely Bella? Don't tell me she's dead?"

"She's none of your concern," I said through gritted teeth. "You said you had a request, which means you need me. I don't have to jump through your hoops or give out information. Speak, or I go back to my room."

"Alright." His eyes, red as fire, seemed to burn into me. "It's about Nora Summers."

That surprised me. "The skinner of vampires?"

"Yes . . . a most distasteful woman. She's been taking vampires' skins, and she needs to be stopped. I know that you have more tenacity than I do, and most of the Volturi in fact. If anyone can stop her, it's you."

"Me? Oh come on. The Volturi have legions upon legions. What? They can't handle one woman?"

"Sadly, no. If we sent our legions, the humans would get wind of it, and if this Miss Summers supplied them with the same thing that she had, it might be the end of us vampires. You know there's a reason behind why we stay hidden. This is it."

"Is one woman that much of a threat to you?"

He didn't answer, instead snapping his fingers, and Jane came through the front door, giving a sickly smile, as what was in her hands was a full skin of one of the Volturi. I recognized him from Italy. "I sent him after her a month ago, and she sent this back as a warning. He was a most skilled one of us, ruthless and dangerous. And she just used her chemicals, and he became . . . useless." Aro shuddered, showing real fear. "Give him to Edward."

Jane handed the skin over to me quickly, and stepped as far away from it as possible. I then received a shock. It took touching him, but I could still hear his thoughts, horror and fear, trapped but still aware, a living prison within his own skin, but only that. I shot a horrified glance at Aro, for once on the same page as he was. "They can still think and feel?"

"Yes."

My whole family gasped at that, and I could hear Alice's thoughts, "That's what I saw! Our whole family . . ."

"So, why don't you go after her? End her threat by yourself? It would be covert enough."

"A Volturi can't be risked. We've already lost one. You, however, can be risked, and it's your family Miss Summers has set her sights on. Besides, you have survived things before that we Volturi might not have, through luck or timing or whatever. Maybe it will smile on you again. Get to work or we might have to look into why you're so upset about Bella. I'd hate to think she wasn't going to be turned into a vampire after all, because she broke up with you. Yes, that would be a very dangerous situation indeed. A human who knew about us, who had cut all ties with her vampire friends. Now, _she_ the Volturi could do something about."

A chill followed Aro's leaving, and I knew what I had to do. Bella might not want me to, but I had to protect her again, and that meant going after Nora Summers. With a rush, I was out of the house, following the scent of Nora, ignoring my family's thoughts of, "But, he hasn't eaten . . . He's so weak."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Jane

"You want me to what?" I asked Aro, knowing I must have misheard him.

"I want you to help Edward." I hadn't misheard then.

"But you said so yourself that we can not be risked. It's too dangerous."

"I did say that, and I was right, but Edward's going to be in the line of fire, while you stay hidden. Use your powers from the shadows and destroy this woman. While she is concerned with Edward, you can be safe and sound. After all Miss Summers wants the Cullen's, not us."

I gritted my teeth. I didn't want to work with one who recently was about to kill himself over a stupid human, our food. I didn't want to be an ally with someone who had disregarded his own nature, but what Aro said was law, and I wouldn't break it. "Very well. I will watch an idiot's back." Then I left, following Edward's trail.

He was so weak, one who could be so strong. His trail was so easy to follow: he wasn't even trying to mask it. He wanted to get this job over with and go back to moping. Over a stupid human? This was the stupidest thing I had ever heard.

Edward had left the forest to go into town, and through that he ran to get to the highway, and he stopped right in front of Lake Crescent. I climbed up the side of the tree-filled slope and watched. There was the human who was so terrifying, just sitting there by the lake, looking across the water. Edward didn't just attack, another stupid move.

"Miss Summers," he said, trying to be polite here. He was so . . . tame. "I have to ask you to stop attacking vampires, or your life will be over."

She giggled, turning her face to look at him. It was my move now. I would not be so stupid as to give warning. I reached out with my mind, to provide the torture I was so good at.

Miss Summers didn't even blink.

No! It wasn't working? Like with Bella? How many were like her?

The only thing my mental barrage did was make Edward put a hand to his head, then looking around for me. What was going on?

"Jane, stop that and come out of hiding."

I did so, but only because I wanted to know why my powers weren't working. Maybe a closer attack would be more suitable. I wasn't doing it to obey Edward's order. The audacity of his was very high.

"Ah, two vampires coming after me?" Miss Summers said with a grin. "I must be some threat."

"I am insulted that Aro thought I couldn't handle this on my own," Edward said.

I just shrugged and mentally sliced at Miss Summers again. Edward slapped a hand to his head. "Stop that! You're only torturing what she's wearing. Can't you tell she's shielded?"

I took a look at her jacket, and recognized a similar thing I had carried in to the Cullen's house earlier. She was wearing a vampire, and that's who I was attacking. "This could prove to be more difficult than I thought," I admitted.

"You have no idea," Miss Summers said and threw some kind of weapon at us. It was faster than I thought, and though my abilities tried to get me out of the way, it exploded all over me, and . . . I froze. I couldn't move; I could only blink. I turned my eyes towards Edward. He had managed to get out of the way, having expected it. He couldn't have warned me?

"You've learned," Miss Summers said. "It seems you're smarter than most of the vampires I've come across."

"I'm giving you one last chance," Edward growled. Another warning? What the hell was wrong with him? "The Volturi are after you. If I fail, they will rip you apart."

"Oh, goody!" she exclaimed. "I've been waiting for them to come after me again. Imagine those skins. See, they're not as intelligent as you are. One by one they will fall by my chemicals, and I do have other resources, believe me. So, shall we get on with this?"

Edward shook his head. I could see the war on his face, not wanting to kill a human. This was crazy. I smacked him mentally. At least that was still working, and he glared at me. "Leave me alone. You wouldn't understand my lifestyle. Just stay out of this, Jane. I have enough to worry about without you hitting me from inside."

Then, finally (far too late by my standards), he rushed her, slamming her so hard she went flying into the lake. Why didn't he just bite her? Right for the jugular was the fastest and most effective . . . and the most fun.

A star flew out of the water, and Edward was doing his best to dodge it, but I could see his weakness from here. If he had just gone for the jugular, he would be stronger, and Miss Summers wouldn't be a threat. Idiot! I was getting very tired of not moving.

Miss Summers' head came out of the water, and she threw another star. Edward was slowing . . . it wouldn't last much longer.

But, before he could fall, back-up arrived. I had never been so happy to see them as I was now. The Cullen's had followed their family member.

I expected fear on Miss Summers' face, but the only thing I saw was delight. She backed up in the water, and they followed. Good, at least Jasper was aiming for the jugular. A mistake?

She had expected it, and a choker she wore exploded as his teeth reached her, and Jasper fell, sinking into the water. Esme tried to go from behind, a mighty leap and splash into the water, but Miss Summers was faster than normal humans, ducking under. Seconds later a net came up and wrapped around Esme, bringing her down as well. In only twenty seconds flat, she had managed to trap two vampires. Now I saw what Aro was afraid of. Carlisle and Emmet and Rosalie decided to team up. It seemed they had finally gotten over their stupid morals now that two were down.

But . . . Miss Summers was altogether too smart, and as the group rushed her, she exploded—okay, her outfit did: her pants and shirt, jacket, all were laced with that same chemical and it caught them all, even as Edward finally lost his battle with the star. It caught him right on the back and he fell. I felt something I hadn't felt in a very long time: fear . . . that icy shiver. It was over . . . I would be made into a skin . . . The Cullen's would be made into skins. We had all failed, against a stupid human. Maybe we had underestimated them. But Aro never had. I wished I hadn't failed him.

"Well," Miss Summers said, walking over to me, "your skin will make up for all the Cullen's not being here, so I guess my job is done, until I get some help and hunt down all of you Volturi."

Wait, she was right: all the Cullen's weren't here. Where was Alice? A glimmer of hope hit me. Could she be able to save us? She wouldn't have left her family to fail without some kind of back-up plan. As I stared into Miss Summers' gleaming, greedy eyes, I just hoped whatever Alice's plan was would be fast.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Bella

I wasn't sure I was even alive anymore. Had a day passed since saying good-bye or had a year? It didn't matter, and what killed me most was that it was my decision. I could easily fix everything, but to do that would put the Cullen's right back into danger again from Miss Summers or people like her. It was better this way.

Tell that to my dead heart, like it had gone into winter, icy and cold with barrenness all around. I took to thinking of where I would be going from here. All my plans had been to graduate and then spend the rest of eternity with Edward. That was all gone now. Maybe it was time for me to get strong, to be able to live life without him.

Could I do it? Could I live while still being dead? I considered it, and it was like a warm breeze across my face. Yes . . . I could. Though part of my heart would be forever dead, the human nature is to heal, to move on. There could be, would be, another guy for me, but he wouldn't even hold a candle to Edward. That life comforted me but at the same time terrified and depressed me. I could go on. Maybe that's why Edward had been so reluctant to turn me. Being a vampire, there was no change, just the same forever and ever. Part of me (I just realized this) wanted to be away from that, to go on changing, to be human, to . . . die.

But I didn't want to lose Edward. I pushed that life away. I knew it would come to claim me eventually the longer I stayed away from him, but for now I would hurt. For now, I'd be dead.

I sat at my register at Thriftway, just gazing off into the many faceted raindrops falling from the sky, to see an ethereal presence walking through it all, seemingly not touched by all the wet. It was Alice! They were still here? My heart beat a bit, its pathetic hope that Edward was right behind her, but she was alone.

"Alice," I said dully, trying to pretend that I didn't want anything to do with her, "there's a new selection of scarves in outerwear."

"Stop this useless pretense," she scolded, sound way more severe than normal. "You are now being as bad as Edward was, so willing to give up everyone to protect them. Did either of you ever consider that staying around would be safer? Well, did you?" She was downright shrieking now, causing other employees to look our way.

"Alice, keep your voice down."

"No! Oh, I have to protect people by ignoring they exist. I am super intelligent but utterly stupid." She stopped to gaze a hard, yellow-eyed look at me. "That's you and Edward, in case you couldn't tell."

"I'm glad you're mad at me, because I don't want you here," I said, desperately trying to keep my act, as some part of my brain was agreeing with her.

"That's enough, Bella," Alice said, physically picking me and placing me under her arm like an unruly child. "You are kidnapping me."

"It sure doesn't look like that," I answered, bewildered.

"Because if you don't . . . and Jasper is made into a skin, yours won't be far behind, got me?"

And she was running, out the doors and quickly into the nearest woods so she could really run. "What happened to Jasper?" I asked, losing my act: Edward was with him, I just knew it.

"You're being away from him made him weak, and when Aro asked him to go after Miss Summers, he did so without demanding all of us for back-up. We tried to help him, but we hadn't come up with a game plan, and all failed. I am the only one who stayed out of it, because I knew what was going to happen. And who's going to save them is you. Of course, it would have been a lot easier had you just talked with us in the first place, let all of us know your concerns. Then we could have told you that we wouldn't take reckless chances, and that our family combined is one of the strongest forces in the world, and no one can stand against that. But you had to be stubborn. You and Edward are perfect for each other."

Alice was angry with me, that was obvious, but I could hear the pain behind her voice at all of this, including me ending my friendship with her. "Now you know how it feels to be completely abandoned by those you love," I whispered, remembering all too well what I felt like when I didn't have her to talk to. She shut up after that, and I knew I was forgiven.

We came to a stop near the base of Mount Olympus. "Our family checked this over for vampires, but we ignored the scent of humans, as many come here on camping trips. We should have paid more attention, as this is the lair of our worst villain."

Alice put me down and went to explore a stone wall. I wondered what she was doing until she fingered a protruding rock, and the cave wall swung open. The area had been hollowed out and replaced with a camouflaged wooden wall. It led into a tunnel that seemed to go under the mountain, marked with light posts along the way. Nora was crazy, but I had to admit she was a genius . . . with a whole lot of time on her hands.

"So, what's going on? Is Edward okay?"

"I don't know . . . about any of them. The skin she wears seems to block my prophecies. All I saw was all of my family going after Nora, and she won, completely."

That was unbelievable, but as I stared at her face, I knew it was the truth. My heart, alive now, ached, thinking of Edward facing a monster like her when he was weakened, and all because of me. "Wait, Alice, what makes you think I can do anything? If Aro is here, why not get him to help?"

"He's gone back home. Jane was taken, as well. So, Aro doesn't want anymore Volturi casualties."

"Wow . . . you'd think he would have had this area crawling with vampires by now. Is he that scared?"

"Yes. As he should be. You are the only one who can stop her now."

"Why? What can I do against someone who can take down seven of some of the best vampires in the world?"

"You have something that we don't. You are a human. Think about it. She could have easily killed you. It wouldn't have mattered about the bait being alive or dead, and we all would have been way angrier than we were, which would have made it a lot easier. We wouldn't have thought, and we would have just attacked. Why didn't she?"

"Do we really want to psychoanalyze a psycho?" I asked.

"You have to, Bella, because to beat your enemy, you have to know how they think. Why do you think Jasper is one of the best of all of us? Because he can feel your emotions: he knows almost how people think. So, come on, explain to me why you're the best to stop Miss Summers."

I thought for a minute, about all I knew about her. "She thinks she's on a crusade, stopping the animals from being killed. In her warped philosophy, humans are animals, too, and vampires are just as bad as poachers. So . . . she will not kill me. She tried not to even hurt me."

"Yay!" Alice said, clapping her hands. "I knew you were smarter than I gave you credit for."

"Thanks," I responded. "Okay, great, than I really shouldn't have left Edward."

"That's what I've been saying!"

"Well, what's the plan?"

"Simple, you have decided to join Miss Summers in her plan for money and vampire domination. You will bring her the last vampire of the Cullen clan, and while she's fooled, you attack her while I free the rest." She paused. "Though maybe I should just leave Jane to her mercy."

"No, we save everyone. No one deserves what Nora does to them. Let's go." I paused and turned to Alice. "Thanks for slapping some sense into me."

"My pleasure. Now let's save the love of our lives, okay?"


	10. Chapter 10

These characters belong to Stephenie Meyer not me. Thank-you.

Sorry for the slow update, anyone who cares, but it's been a hectic life. Enjoy chapter ten. Please review if you want more.

Edward

Why is that all psychos can find the worst places of all to hide their victims? Nora had brought us all to a place that was . . . pink. From ceiling to floor everything was a bubble gum pink. Okay, it's bad enough I have to be helpless, wondering when Nora would do something other than smirk at me, mocking us all, but to be trapped in such a sickening sweet candy cane world? This was hell. I wished, not for the first time, to just die.

"Comfortable?" Nora asked sweetly as she sauntered up to me. "Don't worry. This will seem like paradise when I put you into the skinning room. Did you know that vampires squeal like little girls when I start the process?"

I couldn't respond, of course. If I could I'd tell her what to go do with herself, that I'd never make any noise to suit her sick perversions. I'd remain quiet, and if, even for a moment, I could get free, I'd forget very easily she was a human being.

"Now," Nora continued, "I'm not a fan of vampires. Do you know why?" She waited for a few moments, as if I could respond. "Let me tell you a story." She was suddenly not mocking or happy. "You vampires are a disease. There once was a family with a young daughter. On the way to the movies, the parents decided to take a small shortcut through an alley. The movie would have been already started if they hadn't. With two small children with them, it wasn't the smartest move they could make. As the darkness settled over them, a man came out of the shadows and ripped the parents apart, killing them instantly. Then he killed the brother and headed towards the daughter. The only thing that stopped him was one human, a witch, and a wolf ripping that vampire apart, beheading him. There was only a small part left, which the daughter took into her hand and held onto. The rest was burned, and the wolf ran off while the human took the little girl to a police station. That piece of the vampire the little girl discovered could protect her. It took a bullet for her. It was her guardian, and a new way of life. This was how she would get revenge."

My mouth seemed to be getting freer, so I could speak. Despite everything that she had done, I did feel sorry for her. My kind was sometimes monsters. "Let me guess," I said, my mouth slurring the words a bit. "You were that girl."

"No, I was the little boy who got killed!" Nora responded sarcastically. "Of course I was that girl! It changed my life! Showed me what kind of creatures was out there. I will not kill a human, werewolf, or any animal, or a witch, but every vampire will become my clothing, my accessories. That is better than murdering them like they did my family. All will still live eternally, just as my tools. You will, too, of course."

"Look," I reasoned, "my family would be the first to help you, alongside the witch and human. Maybe not the werewolf . . . okay, even the werewolf. We are against that kind of act. My family are vegetarians."

"A vegetarian only eats vegetables. You destroy animals, helpless beings! You're monsters! Death bringers!"

"Nora," I said, still trying to remain calm, "do you kill a lion for killing a gazelle?"

"That lion is natural. It doesn't shine in the sunlight, isn't invulnerable, and is born like that. You people are a disease. To eradicate you makes a lot of sense, but to wear you is justice." She paused and gave me a megawatt smile. "Speaking of which, let's get down to it, shall we?"

Nora drew out her ninja star, aiming it at me. She wanted to play first, so she threw it around my head, nipping my ear. I have to admit, it hurt more than anything I had ever felt before, but I didn't allow my whimper to escape. I just gazed at her. "Well, that tickled," I said.

"I love tickling," she said, catching the star and aiming again. Uh oh, this time it was aimed lower . . . a lot lower.

Alice suddenly came flying through the door, but Nora didn't even have the chance to blink before Alice was grabbed from behind, gagged, and tied up. Bella appeared from behind her. My Bella? What in hell was she doing? She wasn't . . . helping Nora, was she?

Had I pushed her over the edge? I had felt incredibly bad enough when she dumped me, but now she wanted me dead?

"Will you explain to me what is going on?" Nora asked, as baffled as I was. "I know you broke up with this guy, but do you really hate him enough to kill him and his entire family?"

"Hm," Bella said, "basically. Check Alice's bindings, and you will see that she is tied well."

"Okay I will." Nora wasn't trusting Bella. Maybe I shouldn't be so quick to think Bella would go off the deep end. I was a bit ashamed. It was just . . . I never knew what I had done to deserve Bella, so I was way too quick to believe she'd hate me, but to kill me? No way. I was crazy to think that way. What plan was up my lovely's sleeve?

"She is really tied up well. You even used my rope. I'm impressed." I was wrong. "How did you find me anyway?"

"No other houses in Forks are painted this pink. Your design?" Bella asked.

"Yep. I thought it'd be the most undignified way of going, totally humiliating, and . . . I like pink." She stared at Bella for a few minutes. "You know, I never thought about having a sidekick before. What do you think? Bring justice to the vampires. Those Volturi would be fun to destroy. With you and me . . . nothing could stop us."

"Let's put hands together then. I'd love to work with you. Handshake? To the future and a vampire free world."

Nora grinned and reached out her hand. Bella then even surprised me with her quickness. Within seconds, Nora's hand was handcuffed to Bella's. I was right to doubt myself then! Right then and there I vowed to kick myself hard in the rump if I ever could.

"What are you doing?" Nora said, struggling away from Bella.

"I have called the police. I play a pretty mean damsel in distress. It should take oh about five minutes for them to get here. You will be charged with kidnapping, and torture. Just that alone, would probably get you at least three years, but I am the police chief's daughter, and the torture of his daughter would make him come down on you like a hammer."

"I never laid a finger on you. I only kidnapped you, but you have no proof about that."

"You tortured me," Bella said with a smile, and then grabbed Nora's star and slit her arm across the skin. Her sweet smell filled the room, and I was glad Jasper was frozen. This was putting them over the edge. It only got worse as she drew the blade again and again across her skin, letting her blood flow freely and making my heart sick. "You'll be lucky to see the outside world again as long as you live, Nora," Bella finished, and then she gave me a weak smile, and I knew . . . we were together again. The world was spinning once more.


End file.
